Chances are you won't move across into a line management role, and in any event you probably won't want to. Consultants frequently turn up in internal strategy teams, CEO office teams, marketing etc, where lines of report are intentionally blurred and most of the work tends to be in a matrixed environment. Your lack of line management experience at a strat house can be an advantage - used to ambiguity, strong stakeholder management skills, and of course no inherited political sensibilities which people rising through the ranks industry side tend to gather whether the want to or not. Realistically you just need to evaluate what it is you are bringing to the table, work out roughly where that would sit, and you'll be fine. As for timing, I dont advocate either juncture. If you joined a strat house you did so for a reason, and if you are still there same applies - there for a reason. If you didnt like it you would want out now for any destination. So stick to consulting until you are sick of it, then go without regrets and it'll all make sense.
